Baskets And Other Things

  I have been lax discussing college basketball. My cousin dissed me fro not talking me about UConn hoops—men’s and women’s. My college roommate always chides me about more over that subject. My former Rabbi chastises me over North Carolina basketball and Duke. 

I admit that college basketball hasn’t been the first thing on my sports radar this winter. The NBA has taken up much of my time. And that is where I am going to leadoff this blog. 

In the last week or more I have gotten to see many of the so-called marquee teams. The frontrunners—Boston, Minnesota, Oklahoma City and Denver. The second tier—New York, Cleveland, Philadelphia, Phoenix and Milwaukee. Plus those which are on the fringe: Los Angeles Lakers, Golden State and Dallas. 

While games can be entertaining among the aforementioned teams, there is a wide gulf between the lower and middle rungs and even more so with the elite teams. To me, there are two teams which are set apart from the remainder of the league: Boston and Denver. I have my doubts about everyone else. 

There is certainly a buzz around some of the contenders. Minnesota has been leading the Western Conference almost all season; I just don’t think they have the personnel to win it all. Oklahoma City seems to be better in the West—the young talent is enormous—but will the lack of experience hurt their chances? Sacramento is an enigma—I thought they would have progressed more.

Cleveland falls into the same category as OKC—talented but not proven. Milwaukee needed a coaching change to make headway—will that be enough? Philadelphia goes as Joel Embiid goes—and he’s still injured. New York now has Jalen Brunson hurt along with Julius Randle—their two most important pieces; another season of not enough at MSG. 

Golden State and the Lakers have been paying well lately. Except that the Warriors and Lakers could not fend off the Nuggets and Boston blew GSW out on Sunday in a near-record performance. 

Boston has a lineup similar to the glory days—player after player who can flat out play. There is a reason the Celtics have lost only 12 games thus far—they are that good. 

Denver has arguably the best player in the NBA in Nikola Jokic. When paired upon with Jamal Murray on the pick and roll, it is a lethal combination. The remainder of the lineup is full of good shooters and highly competent defenders. 

So unless a team emerges from nowhere, or significant injuries impact the remainder of the schedule, expect to see the Celtics and Nuggets vying for the title. It might be that simple. 

Has anyone noticed that the Florida Panthers have passed Boston, the New York Rangers and Vancouver for the most points in the NHL? It wasn’t a fluke last season when the Panthers unceremoniously dumped the record-setting Bruins out of the playoffs in the first round before losing in the Stanley Cup Finals to Vegas. 

It would be folly for me at this time to pick who will make the Finals this season. The Devils, last year’s upset darlings, are on the verge of not making it to the playoffs. Even with Auston Matthews goal sniping, Toronto doesn’t seem to have enough, to the unforgiving dismay of Leafs fans. The thought of an all-Canadian Toronto-Edmonton Finals with Matthews and Connor Mc David facing each other sounds too good to be true. Really.

Remember—all it takes is a hot goalie to carry a team. Experience and talent helps too. More on hockey in another blog. 

Besides watching a ton of televised sports, I went to two distinctly different events. On Saturday, I took my wife and daughter to a quad men’s gymnastics meet at Rutgers involving RU, Cornell, West Chester and Ursinus. A small but enthusiastic crowd watched the four teams rotate between beam, bars, floor and vault. 

What we saw was mid-level college gymnastics. Rutgers is ranked #44—a far cry from what is shown on ESPN with the top teams like Oklahoma, Michigan, LSU, Florida and more. Cornell and West Chester are ranked in the 60 range and Ursinus, a DIII school, is sequestered at #78. 

The scores are in the upper 9’s for many of the athletes. No one could possibly score a 10.00 as I saw with Oklahoma. Nor is there a sellout  with cheerleaders and a pep band like my daughter witnessed when she saw Arkansas match with LSU in Baton Rouge.

Nonetheless, they pushed themselves and the team crowded around each performer after a competed routine. It was fun—college sport at its purest. 

On Sunday, we traveled to Yogi Berra Stadium in Montclair to see my F&M Diplomats play the Red Hawks. Montclair State won both games; the umpiring in Game 1 didn’t benefit the visitors, resulting in plays which allowed MSU to score the two runs it needed to win. 

F&M may be 0-5, but the talent is there. Conversely, MSU is 5-1 and looked more polished and confident. It will be interesting to see where the teams end up at the end of the season. One thing for certain—the weather was beautiful—70 degrees on March 3rd is a real blessing in the Northeast. 

The Sweet 16 is set in Division III men’s and women’s basketball. The NESCAC has three schools still in the hunt on the men’s side—Williams is there and Tufts and Trinity play each other in the next game. The ODAC has its top two schools alive in highly-ranked Randolph-Macon and Hampden-Sydney (along with leading the tournament in hyphens). And the UAA has Washington (Mo.) and Case Western still playing. 

There are a lot more hyphenated schools which made the Women’s Sweet 16. NYU is the top seed. There are three Wisconsin schools in the next round—Oshkosh, Stout and Whitewater. NESCAC schools Bates and Bowdoin are prominent. 

A Final Four will  be set next weekend for both draws. Only one school has more Hope than others in each bracket—because Hope College has its teams still trying to move forward.

As for the D-I women—it was all about Caitlin Clark again. The Iowa star set the all-time scoring record for men and women, passing the legendary Pete Maravich. While Clark is a phenomen who will take her talents to the WNBA next year, she is simply not anything like Maravich. Had he been able to shoot three-point shots, his record would have been untouchable.

With the men, I have seen UConn, Purdue, Houston, Tennessee and North Carolina recently. All legitimate title contenders. But I am not sure each will even win their conference tournaments let alone the NCAA Tournament. North Carolina had enough trouble with NC State on Saturday—the Wolfpack look like a NIT team. And yes, cousin, UConn should have routed Seton Hall. It is really hard to repeat. Houston has injuries. Purdue is a Big Ten team. Tennessee is enigmatic. I argue that any Top 20 team could win this year—nobody sets themselves so far apart from their brethren. 

The fun will be watching the lower-seeded teams rise up to defeat the big boys. It happened last year and it could easily occur this year. After Princeton’s performance last tourney, it would be a horrible shame if the Ivy League is limited to just one school—the Tigers have only 3 losses in 2023-24 yet are tied with Yale and Cornell at the top of the standings. 

South Carolina remains undefeated and atop the women’s leaderboard. Watch for Stanford and Ohio State to be there near the end. I don’t see Clark and Iowa making a run, nor LSU, last season’s winner. 

I will mention that the most expected retirement in the NFL occurred with Jason Kelce’s announcement on Monday. Of course his brother Travis was there—not in Singapore like some misinforming Facebook posts have said. I don’t think Taylor Swift would have wanted it any other way. The Eagles will miss his locker room presence—they have able replacements to fill his large shoes.

It is still exhibition season in Florida and Arizona. But it is now just over three weeks until the regular season begins in earnest. The Dodgers and Padres meet in two games on March 20 & 21 in Seoul, South Korea to whet baseball fans’ appetites.

It is too early for me to get excited over the Yankees. At my age, I temper my enthusiasm. A nice meal has more panache. 

Baskets and other things. A great segue into March.

Let's Get It Right Out There!

  Here it  is the end of February, and  so much in the sports world is in flux. The NFL is partially asleep right now, in its off season. Baseball has just begun its exhibition games. Hockey is in its run to the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The NBA is muddling along to its playoffs, with so many playoff slots undecided. 

College basketball is heading towards the conference championships in Division I; the conference tournament winners in Division III has been decided; and the DIII NCAA tournament begins this week. Yet collegiate ice hockey, wrestling and gymnastics continue while sports such as tennis, baseball, lacrosse and outdoor track are already into their seasons. 

It is college basketball where I begin. Winston-Salem, North Carolina to be exact. Duke, long the bane of the ACC schools in basketball due to its success under Mike Krzyzewski, its Hall Of Fame coach, along with the arrogance of its student body, was playing at member school Wake Forest, the other private university in North Carolina. After arch rival North Carolina, it is Wake which Duke has played the most. Since 1949-50, Duke is 126-59 versus the Demon Deacons. 

As in other years, Duke is highly ranked—they were #7 heading into Saturday’s game. Wake wasn’t terrible—17-9—and in fourth place in the conference. It was a Saturday afternoon and the students were primed.

Wake needed a quality win to bolster its resume when the NCAA Selection Committee starts to evaluate teams qualifications for the field of 68. While among its nine losses were games against North Carolina, Virginia and Duke—all ahead of the Deacons in the standings—there were a few bad losses and no real quality Quad 1 wins. 

A win over Duke would make a statement to the Committee. Which is what happened. But that is not the story. 

Instead, the frenzy which followed is an all-too-familiar scene—whether it is on a football field or basketball court. The students felt it is was their right to spam the floor to celebrate with their team—it happened when Ohio State beat Caitlin Clark  and Iowa; and on Thursday when LSU won on a last second basket to defeat long-time SEC force Kentucky; amongst the joyous throng was women’s basketball star April Reese. 

In the Clark incident, she was run into and seemed stunned and possibly hurt. There was indignation over this scene, but security really hasn’t been tightened. 

Thing were different this time. Kyle Filipowski, a possible top ten NBA lottery pick in the next draft, wanted to get off the court, away from the celebrants. Except he couldn’t. He was run into by a taunting Wake Forest fan, injuring his knee and ankle. The severity hasn’t been disclosed. 

First, I hope that Filipowski recovers to play again and lead Duke this season. But I hold the Wake Forest athletic department and the ACC responsible for this incident. When will it stop? When somebody is severely injured and the subsequent lawsuits hit a school and conference where it hurts the most—in the wallet? 

What would have happened if Clark—arguably among the best ever to play on the women’s side—or Filipowski, a top tier men’s player this season—had their careers ended? While these euphoric spectacles look great on TV—I have been to one at Rutgers when the Scarlet Knights topped Louisville on national television—a lot of bad things can happen. 

I was at a Rutgers-Colgate game in my youth when the fans ran onto the field after the game ended, tearing down the goalposts. They were solid wood, and when they fell, there were jagged edges, I saw some revelers with blood from the resulting celebration. 

Something has to be done to end this riotous behavior. And it must be done now. The NCAA, losers in court this week about Name, Image and Likeness and suffering loss after loss in the judicial and intercollegiate worlds, must ensure that this behavior does not permeate the upcoming tournament. The organization has the resources to make this happen. As long as the NCAA still has power—that’s story for another time. 

However, not all colleges and universities are willing and able to devote money to stopping this long-standing “tradition.” Employ more security, including police officers. Use TV footage to prosecute fans, akin to what the Justice Department did to the January 6th invaders of the Capitol. Make it ironclad and clear during pre-game and end of game announcements that this type of behavior will not be tolerated and could result in prosecution—even if the crime is merely trespassing. The person who ran into Filapowski looked to have an intent to injure—a mens rea if you would; that is the perfect time to show that this kind of action is illegal. 

Buying a ticket to a game does not give the fan the right to go onto the playing surface—at any time. Booing and name-calling, as vile and abhorrent as it has become, is an unfortunately accepted part of the game. Good sportsmanship be damned, I guess. 

Substantial fines to schools which continue to permit this aberrant conduct may help a bit. Threatening to place the school on probation and banning the teams from the post-season might possibly get an administration to act in a prophylactic manner. Whatever measures help post-game civility are fine. 

Measures designed to prevent all activity after games are necessary. Look at the major brawl which erupted at the conclusion of the Texas A&M-Commerce and University of Incarnate World basketball game this week. A young girl and a student manager were injured. 

The schools denounced this heinous event, which should be condemned no matter the trigger for the melee, which broke into clusters of players  and lasted for a while. Those who participated will be disciplined—suspensions may not be enough here. Collegiate careers need to be on the line—both athletically and academically. 

At the high school level, we have repeatedly seen instances of this type of activity, where  fans empty from the stands and start to fight. Referrals to local authorities have resulted. 

Thankfully, no guns of knives have been used. This is not to say that such mob-like behavior would not take off, using things in the area as armaments. Again, I refer back to January 6th and how many U.S. Capital Police officers were injured or died. 

We are a society of laws. Rules are there to be followed—for the protection of the people. While some laugh at the saying “Rules are meant to be broken”, rules and dictates about fan behavior should be observed and followed. If we want the games to continue—then root for your team and scream your head off in exaltation if you wish—just stay in the stands where you belong.

Do we need to return to the early days of college basketball—when wire mesh encircled the court to protect spectators from players going for loose balls and to protect them from over-eager fans? This is why basketball players are sometimes referred to as cagers. 

Our society is in turmoil for many reasons. But there is no political reasons to oppose ending this craziness aligned with sporting events—now. 

It may be a bit late for Clark and Filipowski or the non-combatants in Texas. Let’s get it right out there!

Heartache, Hoops and Hockey

  I’ve ben a busy sports blogger this week. This is largely due to the plethora of sports which interested me, both in person and on TV. 

Before I get to the substantial portion of this week’s installment, I need to comment on the events surrounding the Kansas City Chiefs’ victory parade. What was a largely joyous celebration of a second consecutive title for Patrick Mahomes II, Travis Kelce and company turned into a nightmare when shots were fired near the venerable Union Station in downtown Kansas City. 

Up until that time, about one million fans celebrated this win in true KC fashion. Tomahawk chops and hoots and hollers echoed throughout the route and especially when the team arrive at the station. 

With the mayor concluding his remarks and the crowd ready to disperse into the beautiful day, chaos ensued. There were multiple active shooters whose shots resulted in many injuries and the tragic death of a local DJ. Children were among the victims. 

There were heroes galore in the hysteria. Some tackled apparent shooters trying to flee. Chiefs Head Coach Andy Reid and number of payers comforted those who were in emotional distress. The pictures of police officers, weapons drawn, running outside and into Union Station, were constantly repeated, along with pictures of snipers poised on rooftops.

While the facts remain sketchy, apparently a dispute among groups which included juveniles led to this terrible situation. I immediately put my retired Public Defender hat back on, thinking of the unfathomable harm these alleged perpetrators unleashed and what would ensue for them. 

What was clear, though, was the reaction of the community—from the immediate fright to the heroic measures of the police and first responder medical personnel and the doctors who knew what was incoming. Everybody maintained their composure, no matter the outrage. 

Travis Kelce and his girlfriend Taylor Swift each donated $100,000 to a Go Fund me page for the murder victim. Mahomes and his wife visited the children wounded and still hospitalized. 

No matter what, the scars will run deep for years to come. Going to a celebration like this is becoming more and more dangerous. 

My wife asked me what would I go to a parade if the New York Jets finally won another Super Bowl title? At my age, freezing for hours would be a sufficient deterrent from attending a parade; had I been younger, I might have gone. 

Perhaps these public events need to be handled like New Year’s Eve in Times Square—with metal detectors in use—or held in the stadiums where everyone is scanned before entering. It is a terrible shame that once happy occasions are repeatedly marred by gun violence. We, as a nation, must get a grip on this issue; I heard that shooting deaths are the leading cause of death for black teenagers. These scenes cannot be endlessly repeated. 

Transitioning away from this horror, it’s been a pretty good week for the teams and individuals I root for. The Yankees began Spring Training and no pitchers have complained about anything thus far. Nor have the Jets screwed up anything more as the off season intensifies. 

The college basketball teams I follow have done particularly well this week. Franklin and Marshall returned home after getting trounced on the road by Johns Hopkins and Swarthmore, the two hottest teams in the Centennial Conference. Wins over Dickinson and Washington College propelled the Diplomats to a third seed in the upcoming CC playoffs. With Swarthmore defeating the Blue Jays on Saturday, Gettysburg unseated JHU as the top seed by virtue of the Bullets two wins over the Jays. The Garnet are the fourth seed and will face Ursinus; F&M must wait for a Monday play-in game between Dickinson and Muhlenberg to know their opponent.

Princeton won twice, including a win over Yale, which had been undefeated in conference play. Yale meets Cornell, the other top team, next weekend; Princeton must wait until March 2 to seek revenge from the Big Red. Sadly, the Ivy League will remain a one team league come NCAA Tournament Selection Sunday. 

We went to Drew University on Saturday, forgoing another trip to Lancaster due to the snowy conditions which prevailed early that day  The Rangers hosted Susquehanna to determine which team would be the second seed in the upcoming Landmark Conference tournament. 

This contest was played at break-neck speed. Both teams put up over 40 points in the first half. Solid defense plus timely shooting by Drew sent the home team to victory by a score of 94-82. Drew can be a thorn to top-seed Catholic, each winning on the road in the two games played against each other. Drew has also scored over 90 points in eleven games en route to a sterling 20-5 record. Drew will see either Goucher or Susquehanna in its playoff opener, having gone 2-0 versus Goucher and split its two games with SU. 

I was at Jersey Mike’s Arena on Thursday for the early evening match between Northwestern and Rutgers. Once left for dead near the basement of the Big Ten standings, RU has awoken with the addition of Jeremiah Williams. The transfer from Iowa State by way of Temple and Chicago, Illinois, has shown his talent and swagger in leading the Scarlet Knights. To four straight wins, including a come-from-behind win over the Wildcats. 

RU dug a real hole for itself. Boo Buie, Northwestern’s star guard, annihilated the Knights in the first half, sinking the first seven three point attempts he took. The persistent RU defense shackled Buie and the Wildcats in the second half, overcoming an eleven point deficit to win 63-60. 

Buie is a really good point guard; he probably has pro potential. However, he was repeatedly using his off arm to push away defenders without getting called for an offensive foul. This enraged the RU faithful, who continually let the referees know about this egregious affront. 

I don’t know what will happen for the remainder of Rutgers’ season. Nothing is really a lock. Maybe the NCAA or NIT might eventuate if the play continues to shine. Although a 81-70 loss at Minnesota didn’t help the cause. #2 Purdue, losers to cellar-dwelling Ohio State, is next. Momentarily RU Nation has something to cheer about. 

Iowa’s Caitlin Clark broke the women’s all-time scoring record with a signature 49 point performance. She is an ambassador for young women, and her game is outrageous. Plus she is dating the son of the Iowa men’s head coach; think she is enjoying life?

Switching to the pros, Golden State won three of four before the All-Star break. Steph Curry shined, as he has been while the Warriors have resurrected their dormant playoff hopes. 

What was momentous was the benching of future Hall of Fame player and fellow Splash Brother to Curry, Klay Thompson. Head Coach Steve Kerr said Thompson did not take it well. Rather than sulk, Thompson took his demotion personally, scoring 35 points on Thursday against Utah. It was nice to see; whether this offensive surge continues is anybody’s guess. Too bad the Warriors couldn’t get traction on their interest in trading for Lebron James at the trade deadline. How delicious would that have been—Curry and James paired together?

NBA All-Star Saturday is a favorite of mine. I was mildly amused with the Skills contest. I was more engrossed in the 3-Point Shooting Contest. Damien Lillard, formerly with Portland and now with suddenly spiraling Milwaukee Bucks, repeated as champion, sinking a money ball on his final shot. Great theater. 

Also fun to watch was G-League player Mac Mc Clung defending his dunk title. He cleared 7’1” Shaquille O’Neal to score a resounding victory over Jalen Brown of Boston. Mc Clure also scored 12 points in Friday’s Futures Game. Why this kid isn’t on some NBA team baffles me. 

The tour de force for the Saturday event at the home of the Indianapolis Colts was a meeting of Curry, the NBA all-time three point leader, with the WNBA three-point champion, Sabrina Ionescu of the New York Liberty. Ionescu used the WNBA basketball but shot from the longer NBA three-point line. She projected confidence in the pre-match interview with Ernie Johnson of TNT. 

Sabrina was uncanny, compiling 26 points in her round. This put pressure squarely on Steph, who knows how to handle it. Struggling just a bit, Curry righted himself and ended with a flourish by sinking his last two shots to win 29-26. Ionescu did not fail—she went against one of the greatest competitors ever and she pushed him hard. In comparison, McClung would have stood no chance versus Michael Jordan in his prime in a dunk contest as a reference point. 

It was wonderful. It was magnificent. Use all the cheerful and demonstrative words you choose to apply. Ionescu had every reason to be a proud and humble as Curry. She joined Clark as a second worthy face of women’s basketball. Now if he salaries could match the talent levels and become more commensurate with those in the NBA. 

Could there be an encore? Could Clark join Sabrina and face Steph and Klay? We shall see. It was one glorious competition. 

Add into the mix the NHL Stadium Series landing at Met Life Stadium this weekend. Philadelphia and the New Jersey Devils clashed in the NJ Turnpike rivalry while the Rangers and Islanders faced off. Two crowds of 70,000 willing to freeze for their teams. Talk about devotion. I was more than happy to watch from the warmth of my home. For the record, NJD won 6-3 and the Rangers were the first NHL team to rally from three down to emerge with a win, by a score of 6-5 on a goal 10 seconds into OT.

It was what was needed in a week of heartache, hoops and hockey.